A Question of Shyness and Love
by Kyarorain
Summary: FE7. Florina is feeling sad, and Ninian is willing to help her friend in need, whatever it takes.


**A Question of Shyness and Love**

* * *

Here is my first actual Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken fanfiction. Dedicated to Koriku.

It contains shoujou-ai of course, particularly the pairing of Ninian and Florina. But the question is, is it NinianxFlorina or FlorinaxNinian? A little experiment when I wondered just which of these shy and quiet characters would come out on top.

* * *

Florina sighed and played with a strand of purple hair, anxiously twiddling it around her finger. Her other hand was engrossed with stroking the snowy white flank of her Pegasus, Huey. Huey occasionally let out a soft neigh and nuzzled Florina, understanding that something was not right with her owner, but whatever it was, there wasn't a lot she could do.

Florina broke her sky blue gaze away from the laughing couple in front of her as she heard footsteps. Ninian was walking towards her, her turquoise hair fluttering in the gentle breeze. She stopped short a metre away from Huey and tilted her head, her gentle brown eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Lady Florina," Ninian spoke softly. "You look like something is bothering you. I wanted to know if I could help."

Florina glanced down at the ground, one hand dropping by her side, while the other remained on Huey's flank. Florina did think of Ninian as a friend, she was the kind of person Florina identified with, a gentle soul who was never harsh with her and there was the added bonus of her being a female. For some reason, Florina was afraid of men and it took a lot of courage to even speak to them.

Something was bothering Florina. However, it was because of that that Lyn was not available to speak to her. Ninian was here though. Florina could speak to her.

"Lady Florina?"

"Oh, please, just call me Florina," Florina said hastily, looking up at Ninian with an awkward smile. "Nothing's wrong, really. It's just that when I see Lord Hector and Lady Lyndis together," She looked over to the couple again. Lyn was now leaning on Hector very suggestively and giving him a teasing smile. "It just makes me feel strange."

"Strange?" Ninian hesitated. "How so... Florina?"

"I feel... crushed, somehow," Florina shook her head fiercely. "Oh, it doesn't matter, I'm just being silly. Thanks for talking to me, Ninian. I'm going to go fly on Huey for a little bit. Come on, Huey, let's go."

Ninian watched quietly as Florina got on top of her pegasus and the majestic winged mare rose to the skies. She wished to do something about this misery of Florina's, but what exactly was it? She couldn't help until she knew...

* * *

Florina sat outside her tent, watching the crowds around her. They were illuminated by the flickering torches set up around the edges of the camp. Having a few mages handy really helped in such cases. Sometimes camping got a little chaotic with all the people around and Florina tended to shy away from the crowd.

Still, she took interest in their activities.

Raven and Lucius were having an argument. Florina raised an eyebrow as the word "married" came up once or twice. Still, everybody knew there was something suspicious about the two of them.

Sain was drunk again on the rum. He lurched towards Rebecca with a flirtatious grin on his face, only for Wil to get between the two and drag Rebecca away to safety. Rebecca looked relieved as she clung onto Wil's arm. No woman wanted drunken Sain near them. He was about ten times more flirtatious and lecherous, and that was a bad thing.

Florina did not notice Ninian approaching until she had already sat down next to her.

"Florina... I..." Ninian swallowed. "Do you know why seeing Lord Hector and Lady Lyndis together upsets you so?"

"It's stupid, isn't it?" Florina chuckled nervously. "But Lady Lyn... we are very close... so maybe a part of me feels like she's being taken away... but that's silly. Lady Lyndis will always be there for me. I know she will."

"What about Lord Hector?"

"Well, it's even siller, but I think that I might be a bit jealous of Lady Lyndis too," Florina bit her lip. "I'm scared of men. I've always been like that. But, I would have thought that if I could pick one man to talk to, I would talk to Lord Hector. At least, so I could thank him... but I kind of like him too. He seems like a man I could talk to..." She sniffled.

"No... please do not cry..."

"I'm sorry, I just can't help it!"

"... I'm sorry to have made you cry... I'll go now..."

Florina looked up as Ninian rose to her feet and walked away. She almost called out to stop her, but thought better and went back to dwelling on her misery. Why did it have to be this way?

* * *

Trekking through the Nabata Desert had been an arduous task, especially with the sweltering heat. However, they had managed to make it in the end. Now they were resting in the castle of Pherae, the home of Lord Eliwood.

Ninian came to see Florina again that night.

"Florina, is it okay if I come in?" Ninian asked awkwardly, standing at the door to her room.

"Oh, yeah," Florina was sitting on her bed and yanking a brush through her thick wavy hair. She liked to brush it every morning and night, otherwise it became messy and unmanageable, and a Pegasus Knight could not have messy hair flying in their face, otherwise they wouldn't be able to see where they were going. "Sit down here." She patted the space next to her. Ninian obliged.

"I... I have a very strange question," Ninian glanced at her lap, her hands folded neatly. "I probably shouldn't ask..."

"No, please do," Florina said chirpily. "I don't mind questions!"

"... Your fear of men..."

"Hmm?" Florina put down the hairbrush. "Wh-what about it?"

"I just wonder..." Ninian lowered her head, her hair falling forwards and obscuring her expression. "Do you ever wonder... wouldn't it make love difficult?"

Florina fell silent.

"... I'm sorry," Ninian sighed, getting up.

"No, it's ok!" Florina said quickly, pulling her back down. "It's ok... I'll answer the question. I was just surprised, that's all! Hehe, it's weird, isn't it? If I'm scared of men, then I'll never be able to pluck up the courage, will I? I'll never be able to get very close to them and... fall in love... I'll probably never even know what love feels like."

"You want to know what love feels like?" Ninian asked quietly.

"Yes," Florina nodded furiously. "I want to know someday."

"I've never experienced it before," Ninian looked up, her eyes shining. "But I should like to. Let's try it."

"Huh?"

"Maybe I'm just being very silly," Ninian smiled. "But I do wonder... if we kissed, would we feel anything?"

"I don't know," Florina's eyes widened. "But that's curious..."

"Lady Florina, just relax," Ninian said softly. "I'll show you... the both of us... please let me..."

Florina felt soft lips against her own. Ninian's soft blue hair brushed against her face. This feeling, it was good. Ninian raised a hand to cup Florina's cheek, stroking her thumb against the satin skin. Her other hand went to Florina's shoulder, then down her back.

The Pegasus Knight awkwardly put her arms around Ninian's slender form, unsure of what she was doing. This did feel nice, holding each other. But was this really love?

"Please relax, Florina," Ninian gently pushed her down on the sheet, a hand stroking against Florina's breast.

This was bliss. Florina had never even imagined it in her wildest dreams. Never would she have imagined Ninian of all people, stripping her, touching her, their naked bodies pressed against each other on top of the sheets. She wasn't sure exactly what happened, but they awoke in the morning underneath the bedsheets with their arms around each other.

Ninian smiled at her.

"Did you like that?"

"Yes," Florina smiled back, tears falling down her face. "Thank you, Ninian."

* * *

Despite the pleasantness of their little encounter, it left Florina confused. Was that really love? She did feel different towards Ninian, but she wasn't sure what this meant. Ninian seemed awkward around her as well, and their conversations were brief and awkward.

Florina prayed that Ninian hadn't regretted her actions. They had still made Florina happy. Surely it hadn't changed their friendship in any way? She didn't want to lose the bond they had.

Unfortunately, that bond was torn apart just a few days later as Eliwood's sword, Durandal, slew the ice dragon. Florina remembered being scared as the dragon appeared out of nowhere, then relief as the dragon fell. However, the relief quickly changed to intense horror as the dragon changed shape to form the girl known as Ninian. And it was in Eliwood's arms that Ninian faded away.

"No..." Florina sobbed, watching from a distance. Her kind sister, Fiora, saw her grief and pulled her close to console her. "NO!" Her scream reverbated through the air as she looked at Ninian's broken body.

Ninian...

Why?

Why did Ninian have to die?

It wasn't fair!

Florina loved her!

Wait... she loved her?

No... why did she have to realise it only now? Why realise it when Ninian was already dead? Why...

Ninian wasn't coming back.

No matter how many tears Florina cried, how many times she shouted her name, Ninian was not coming back. Ever.

* * *

Oh, but Ninian had come back in the end, thanks to Bramimond.

Still, Ninian had to go away beyond the Dragon's gate, with her brother, Nils. Still, Florina knew their bond would never be broken. She watched as Ninian and Nils disappeared in a bright flash of light, tears coursing down her face.

"Thank you," Florina whispered happily. "Thank you so much for showing me what love is like."

Maybe there was still some hope for her after all.


End file.
